UPTOWN — A committee designed to help shape the future of development in Uptown and surrounding neighborhoods does not reflect the area's racial diversity, according to one longtime resident.
Jay Rothschild, 59, launched an online petition over the weekend, alleging that the members of the 46th Ward Zoning and Development Committee do not represent a community known for its racial and socio-economic diversity.
The petition reads: "Uptown has a long proud history of diversity and the majority of the 46th ward residents would like to see it that way ... Apparently among the 30 something members of the 46th ward zoning & development committee everyone except one person is white. What's wrong with those mathematics?"
While Ald. James Cappleman declined to comment on the petition, his chief of staff, Tressa Feher, said Rothschild's claim that the committee's members are all white save for one is "not true at all."
"These organizations send their own representatives and the representatives and their alternates change based on availability and turnover at the discretion of the organizations," Feher said in an email.
At the last Zoning and Development Committee meeting, it appeared that the vast majority of people representing 23 groups were white.
Cappleman has pointed to diversity as one of the ward's greatest strengths.
"People don't realize that there are 90 different languages spoken in the ward. What comes up over and over again is [the] strength in diversity," Cappleman told DNAinfo Chicago after he was elected for a second term. "My job is to maintain that diversity. I think it's the diversity that will help us be more problem solving."
The committee was formed in 2011 when Cappleman was first elected as alderman to lead the ward, which includes Uptown, Buena Park, Sheridan Park and Lakeview. It was designed to "help assist in receiving feedback on large-scale proposals that request a zoning change," Feher said.
It's made up of representatives from more than 30 community organizations including block clubs, condo boards, affordable housing boards and experts in urban planning and preservation, according to the ward's website.
The idea is each resident should have at least one representative serving on this committee. Non-members can attend meetings and submit questions that may be asked by their representatives if room allows, according to the website.
But Rothschild, an IT professional who has lived in Uptown since 1978, said he's talked to non-members who don't feel welcome at meetings.
By launching a petition, he hopes to show Cappleman that the community supports a more racially diverse zoning committee — a group whose decisions affect "thousands of people and millions of dollars," he said.
"When it's truly independent, and there's input from everybody, there's bound to be some change," said Rothschild, who does not want to see housing become less affordable.
As of Tuesday evening, the petition had received 42 out of the 50 signatures Rothschild is seeking. The next step, Rothschild said, is to host a meeting to get input from other residents.
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